Controversial Mojave Desert War Memorial Cross Stolen!

By, Angela Kaye Mason

The cross which was erected over 75 years ago in 1934 to honor the soldiers who had been killed in WWI has been the center of controversy for many years. In a previous article, I brought the story of this cross and it’s history, along with the Supreme Court’s decision to let the cross stand where it was. A group of people who were against the religious symbol being on public soil had fought to have the cross taken down, but they lost in a 5-4 ruling last month. Apparently sore losers, someone snuck in cowardly over the weekend and ripped the cross from it’s perch.

In an article by the AFP, The National Park Service (by the way, it was employees of the National Parks who first complained about the cross being allowed to stay on the land) confirmed that the cross, which had stood seven feet tall on the hill for so many decades, had been ripped down. The thieves apparently cut through the bolts which were holding the cross in place on Sunrise Rock sometime on Sunday or Monday.

The original cross which was erected in 1934 was a Latin cross. It has been replaced over the years as needed, until finally, about a decade ago, this metal version was installed. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy ruled last month that the cross could stay, stating, “A Latin cross is not merely a reaffirmation of Christian beliefs,” he wrote. “Here, a Latin cross in the desert evokes far more than religion. It evokes thousands of small crosses in foreign fields marking the graves of Americans who fell in battles, battles whose tragedies are compounded if the fallen are forgotten.”

Since the Supreme Court has already ruled that the VA can keep the spot of land, and have a cross there if they choose to, all that is really needed is the erection of another cross, however the act of those who stole it is embarrassingly childish and a source of disgust to many-whose families, loved ones, and ancestors fought for the very freedom which the thieves enjoy (for now). Those fallen heroes are the ones for whom the cross was erected.